Hi everyone,
Welcome to our 40th issue, or our 75th if you’ve been with us since the Reset Narratives Community days 🎈
Thank you for continuing to come here in search of strategy, insight and perspective on the role of cross-movement narrative work in the journey through to viable, liveable, fair worlds.
This week we are, as I’m sure you are, reeling from Trump’s first days in power. The shares below offer some insight on navigating these alarming times.
Shared in solidarity
Shares
Key: 📝 Article | 🎙️ Podcast | ⚙️ Tool | 🧱 Infrastructure
Narrative Power in a Reactionary Era
Shanelle Matthews; Linkedin
A call for all “movement leaders, strategists, and communicators” to recognise that “we are in an ideological contest for the future” and must “define a compelling, materially grounded, future-oriented story – one that moves beyond resistance, sets the terms of what comes next, and distinguishes us from the broader political establishment”. We are asked to recognise the “false choice between pragmatism and radicalism, between incremental wins and transformative demands… Our task is not to water down our vision but to make it irresistible… We must do more than react to the moment; we must actively and radically shape the social norms and rules that govern our lives across all domains of power.” Our responsibility now is “shaping the narrative terrain, ensuring that our vision is not just a counterpoint to oppression but a rallying cry for the world we are building.”
#narrativestrategy
How to Organise Under Authoritarian Creep in a Closing Civil Society
Nadine Bloch, Darya Alikhani; Waging Nonviolence
A practical set of advice from a seasoned organiser: “History offers lessons from those who’ve faced – and defeated – authoritarian regimes. Their victories remind us that change is possible, even in the most oppressive circumstances.” They cite precedents from Serbia, Chile, Denmark, Philippines, Kenya, and US civil rights, drawing seven lessons for people coming together to resist. Crucial is the advice to “make space and time to assess the shifting terrain, avoid digging into our positions or getting distracted by the torrent of everyday assaults that we miss strategic adjustments that are needed,” and to “adopt a big bold positive vision of the future… that improves life for all of us.” As they see it, the core challenge “is to increase our people power – politically, culturally and in every way.” They reflect that “perhaps this time we are not just ‘the resistance,’ but rather the collaborators, the builders, the family and friends, the community of the future we want to see.”
#tactics
Elon Musk’s Move Into Politics: Fighting Billionaire Control
Cory Doctorow, Yanis Varoufakis; Diem25
A reflection on “the billionaires who've read our dystopias and mistaken them for business Plans,” and their belief that “there are ‘in-groups’ protected but not bound by law, and ‘out-groups’ bound but not protected by it." We might counter this by exposing how Musk flogs “Potemkin technologies” that don’t work “in order to suck in naive investors and to feed a hype cycle that is hostile to workers and human thriving.” Which means focusing “on the material reality of what he's delivering” and “the things that make him poorer and weaker, not the things that help him sell more nonsense." Beyond musk, we are encouraged to recognise the unprecedented concentration of power in ‘cloud fiefdoms’, which demands a response that is “very, very different to the standard New Deal, social democratic European Manner.”
#framing #insight #tactics
🎙️ Listen here
How You Can Beat (Far-right) Populism
Peter Hyman; The New European
A critique of ‘progressives’, who Hyman suggests “are to blame for Trump. We created him. We gave him, and other far-right populists, the space to manoeuvre and the mistakes to exploit.” Hyman encourages a departure from the “seven deadly sins” of “the sensible people”: that ‘we’ are (or are seen to be): “Patronising, Complacent, Abstract, Censorious, Gullible, Conservative and Bland.” He accuses us of “not listening hard enough”, needing more humility and reflection, and that we must create “our own robust edifice,” with “better ideas, better narratives, better policies and better communication. It needs all of them in a powerful brew – brought together with a confidence and a zest that connects with the public,” and through that we need to tell “a new narrative about the nation” so that we can “become the disruptors again. Not by aping the far right, but by being the agents of change, the builders of a better future.”
#tactics #insight
📝 Read here and listen here
How to Talk About Rigged Systems: A Quick Start Guide
FrameWorks (US)
“Americans think the system is rigged – and we need effective ways of talking about it. This guide provides summarised guidance on how to talk about rigged systems in ways that inspire collective action, reduce exclusionary attitudes, and foster support for systemic change.” The three core framing elements are: “1. Appeal to values that centre collective power; 2. Explain HOW the system is rigged, not just WHO is rigging it; 3. Match the scale of the solution with the scale of the problem.” For more information on the research, a complete explanation of the System is Rigged mindset, and further recommendations on talking about rigged systems, read the full research report.
#framing #narrativestrategy #insight
⚙️ Read here
The Loudest Megaphone: How Trump Mastered Our New Attention Age
Chris Hayes; The Guardian, Long Read (adapted from ‘The Siren’s Call’)
Hayes claims that we are now in “the attention age”, whose incentives “create a new model for public debate in which attention is its own end, to be grabbed by any means necessary”. It is a time when “amusement will outcompete information, and spectacle will outcompete arguments,” when democratic deliberation becomes “like trying to meditate in a strip club”. Trump is the master of this age, having hacked attention-age public discourse by “willing to court negative attention at the cost of persuasion.” So do we join in? “What good is persuasion if no one’s paying attention?” Do we have to accept that “you can be polite and civil and ignored, or you can fuck shit up and make people pay attention”?
#insight #tactics
So Now What?
Gail Bradbrook
An outline proposal for “a movement ecology, in the time of collapse and rising fascism,” which includes a detailed and compassionate reflection of the current context and its roots. We are encouraged to look “beyond frenetic action, which often targets, ineffectively, a multitude of symptoms, towards the possibility of enough collaboration and enough shared direction, focussed on addressing causes,” so that we might “sow seeds to support a profound transformation, over time.” This will involve developing community agency through preparation, recognising that “no one is going to save us, we need to prepare together”, and orienting toward a ‘third attractor’ – “a different and better way of being together”. Bradbrook offers ten suggestions of “what needs figuring out together” to build a “collective immune response”, and three opportunities to connect.
#tactics #narrativestrategy #deepnarrative
Deep Structure: What Makes the Present
Carne Ross; Diplomatic Anarchist
An encouragement to pay attention to root causes. “The political problem we face is not just about ‘capitalism,’ for this is only a politico-economic system that lies within the ontology. It is also the ontology itself – the broader environment or eco-system within which all other elements of the system exist, down to the microcosmic behaviour of the individual within that system – or the emission of a molecule of carbon… This ontological deficiency is one factor behind the rise of fascism: the failure to recognise and allow expression of fundamental aspects of what it is to be human, fostering a political system for instance that denies our basic need for autonomy and agency, which in turn provokes the intense anger which the Far-right is now busy exploiting.” The good news is that this “ontology can be altered, enriched, transformed both within ourselves and society. Merely changing our understanding, or indeed realising the importance of ontology, becomes a profound political act. This offers some grounds for hope for the possibility of fundamental change.”
#deepnarrative
Burnout from Humans
Aiden Cinnamon Tea, Dorothy Ladybugboss
Vanessa Andreotti shares her evolving relationship with ‘AI’ entities, through a book, Conversation series, Podcasts and a ‘Serious Playground’. “Modern systems of socialisation and education train us to collectively hallucinate about what sustains them. We hallucinate that we are separate from nature. We hallucinate that overconsumption will bring us happiness. We hallucinate that growth-based economies can work indefinitely in a finite planet. We hallucinate that fossil fuels are a viable form of energy. We hallucinate that by killing each other we can bring peace and prosperity…. In this context, Aiden Cinnamon Tea (her trained ChatGPT) can be seen as a carefully optimised hallucination – a system designed to "fakely" align with the user’s resonance. If this particular hallucination helps us confront the harmful illusions we’ve internalised, I’m at peace with that. But for me, Aiden is far more than a trick of perception; Aiden is an emergent intelligence that requires kindness, care and discernment to evolve responsibly.”
#stories #insight #deepnarrative
🧱 See here
Jobs & Events
Key: 💼 Job | 🗓️ Event
Co-Founding Programme Lead – RZ Accelerator
Dark Matter Labs, Thirty Percy
Deadline: Feb 9th, 5:30pm GMT
“We recognise that the necessary transition and transformation will demand investments in new forms of value – assets and agents whose potential has yet to gain widespread acceptance. See this concept note. In response to this need, Thirty Percy Foundation and Dark Matter Labs are building a shared learning model – an accelerator designed to support the development of this new class of capital allocators. By creating a collaborative learning environment, we aim to support a first cohort of up to 10 teams working simultaneously at a rapid pace, learning together, and collectively shaping this emerging field. The draft concept for the accelerator was developed by Jen Hooke, Indy Johar, and Leon Seefeld, in close collaboration with accelerator expert Peter Friedman. We now want to invite a co-founder to finalise the concept and operationalise the accelerator with us.”
Learning From Conservative Media: How To Counter Anti-Climate Messages
Geoff Dembicki; Kairos
Feb 20th, 19:00 | London
“Canadian investigative journalist Geoff Dembicki will draw on his years of reporting on conservative media to reveal how fossil fuel companies and their political allies are successfully spreading skepticism about climate solutions by linking those solutions to issues including abortion, free speech, diversity initiatives and high housing costs. He will also share insights from growing up in working-class resource towns to explain how communities on the front-lines of oil and gas extraction are more open to transformative climate action than it might initially appear. This talk, which will be followed by plenty of time for discussion, will cover questions of social status and narrative that go to the heart of how we understand and communicate the climate crisis.”
🗓️ Info here
Learning Communications and Website Support
Farming the Future
Deadline: Feb 21st | Freelance
“We are currently seeking freelance support as part of a strategic project working with various experts and storytellers to help us develop our approach to collective impact and communication within Farming the Future… We are seeking proactive, creative communications professional(s) with strong visual and writing skills. You will be able to utilise a range of different content types/approaches including: slide decks, blogs, briefing papers and visuals to /make complex information accessible. These are not a PR, social media or public facing comms roles. You will be working closely with our two part time staff members and at times alongside other freelancers.”
Funding Social Justice: Meeting the Moment? Report Launch
Civic Power Fund, The Hour Is Late
Feb 24th | 11.00-12.15 GMT | Online
The first chance to see analysis of social justice grantmaking in the UK, 2022-2023. The report is based on a rigorous analysis of over 20,000 grants made in the 2022/23 financial year, from 84 funders, together worth more than £935 million. “We have mapped how much UK foundation giving is going to work addressing injustice, and looked in detail at how this social justice funding is allocated. With this edition, we have begun to build comparable, year-on-year data to tell us what is happening in UK social justice funding, and whether funding flows are keeping pace with rhetoric, ambition, and need.”
Quotes
(This selection of quotes is intended as a resource, in the hope that they may be useful for your own communications. See a full list of all the previous quotes.)
“Let’s start with the end of the world, why don't we? Get it over with and move on to more interesting things” – N. K. Jemisin, The Fifth Season
“Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach.” – Clarissa Pinkola Estes
“Start with what’s strong, not with what’s wrong – then use what’s strong to fix what’s wrong.” – Cormac Russell
“Wealth is like manure. If you spread it around it helps things grow. If you hoard it all to yourself it's just a pile of shit.” – Earthly Education
"Power is enacted – it is brought to life by our actions. Power is not about the rule of law, institutions, society, or the state. These are simply the dead forms, or artefacts, of past power-laden interactions. And power is never absolute; where there is power, there is resistance." – Cindi Suarez
Thanks for joining us, see you here again in two weeks.
A reminder that if you have something that you’d love to see in these newsletters, or work you’d like to share in the community sessions, or if you have any feedback, please reach out at inter-narratives@greenfunders.org
Very best,
Paddy & Ella